The Route 66 Chick

Last weekend I took the new Route 66 in Kansas book on the road for a mini book tour to the Tri-State area. Three events were planned, sponsored by three terrific museums, for Friday through Sunday, July 22-24. It was a great weekend, and as a bonus, I stayed three nights at the wonderful Boots Court in Carthage, Missouri, and enjoyed the new neon. The first event was a book display and signing sponsored by the Powers Museum of Carthage at the Carthage Art Walk in - where else? - historic Downtown Carthage on the Square on Friday evening. Michele Newton Hansford of the Powers Museum secured a prime space for me inside the Carthage Deli, and she and her husband, Gary Hansford, joined me for the evening at the deli. Owner Chris was a gracious host as usual, and we enjoyed a fine supper and great conversation. The oppressive heat and humidity caused some of the artists to cancel out of the art walk. That, combined with construction around the square and the weather itself, made ...

When the alarm rang at 7:00 am, I was thinking more "relaxation" than "research." However, I had an appointment with Michele Hansford in the archives of the Powers Museum and I was looking forward to it. At the Pancake Hut, breakfast and coffee fortified us for some work. The  Powers Museum is located at the west edge of Carthage on West Oak Street. The museum was a gift to the city from Marian Powers Winchester in honor of her parents, and the institution just celebrated its 25th anniversary in June of this year. Director Michele really knows Carthage history and was of tremendous assistance. I listened, read, and scanned while Steve wrote on his projects for awhile before jumping in to assist with  my work so we wouldn't end up camping out in Michele's archives for another week or two. We finally packed up and left a little while before closing time, with lots of information, souvenirs, and a copy of each of Michele's Arcadia books on Carthage. ...